This Place Matters! Ten Chimneys, centered on the life and Wisconsin estate of married Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, will screen at the Broadway theatre that bares their name, the Lunt-Fontanne, October 6. The theatre is currently home to Death Becomes Her.
The film chronicles the duo, often thought of as "the first couple of the Broadway stage," and the Wisconsin estate they made a theatrical hotspot for much of the early middle of the 20th century. The film features interviews with Alan Alda, Jason Alexander, Carol Channing, Tyne Daly, Colman Domingo, Olympia Dukakis, Barry Edelstein, Joel Grey, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Alfred Molina, David Hyde Pierce, Phylicia Rashad, and Lynn Redgrave, and narration by Sharon Lawrence.
“Aside from seeing their names on a Broadway theatre, many people don’t know much about the incredible legacy of Alfred and Lynn,” says Ten Chimneys Foundation President and CEO in a statement. “They nurtured and cultivated Ten Chimneys, so it became a creative refuge for some of the most important names in stage and screen—Noël Coward, Helen Hayes, Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, David Belasco, and Alexander Woollcott, among others all spent time honing their craft at Ten Chimneys. We hope this film will allow the world to see their magnificent contributions to American theatre.”
The film memorializes the Lunt-Fontannes' mission to mentor Broadway artists, which has been carried forward via the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program. The offering pairs the country's top actors with mentors, and creates a national community of Lunt-Fontanne Fellows.
Among Lunt's many accolades and accomplishments were two Tony Awards, for directing Ondine in 1954 and starring in Quadrille in 1955. The pair was honored with Special Tony Awards in 1970.
Learn more about the film at TenChimneys.org.